Key cutting machine



May 24, 1932- A J SCHECHTER 1,869,10

KEY CUTTING" MACHINE Filed oct, 19, i927 2 sheets-sheet 1 39 I 33 37 .23 26. mi l un N 42 '21 l nnnmlmmll 41 Pw? 3@ 31- I 22 A "Enix Y. l

52 1 1 Y i l mh y @Mmmm l 5 IN VEN TOR.

M BYMMAQLMAQWNKUM/ A TTORNEYS.

Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED ,STATES .PATENT Or-121011.I i i JOSEPH SOREOHTER, or BROOKLYN, NRW YORK, AssIGNoR To snc-AL LOOK a HARD- WARR co. TNO., or NRW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NRW YORK KEY CUTTING ivLAcRINE Application fiieaoctober' 19, 1927. ser'ia'iNaaaaO'zo.

This invention relates to an improved ,key-

cutting machine which, preferably, will be so constructed that it may handle with equal facility key blanks ofthe cylinder, as wellV as of the old or gate type key.

It is an object of the invention to prO- vide a machine of this type, the parts of which will be relatively few in number and individually rugged in vconstruction and be capable of being assembled with facility to provide a machine operating over longperiods of time with freedom from mechanical difficulty, aside from the fact that such machine may be manufactured relatively inexpensively.

A further object of the invention is that of furnishing a machine in which the keyv blanks jwill be positioned and retained, while `being Operated upon, in such manner' that work of an imperfect nature will be reduced to a minimum.

Another object is that of furnishing a ma-V chine in whichthefessential parts may be adjusted to compensate for wear, so that the machine may be employed over long periods of time without any renewal of its parts being necessary.

Still another object is that of providing a machine in which the parts,'while free to move in response tothe desires of the operatoi', will bev prevented from moving to positions, either accidentally or deliberately, at which they are liable to become damaged.

An additional object is that of Aconstructl' ing an attachment which may be employediin machine einbodyingone formiof thepresent i invention. Fig.l 2 is a side elevation thereof. i

Fig. 3 is a sectional view ytaken along the lines 3-3 in the direction of the arrowsl of Figure 1. i v v Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View of one, of the key gauges and clamp therefor.

Fig.y 5 is a bottom plan view of the machine base and l Fig..6 is a perspective view l,of a key'holder l `which is to be employed where keys of the shown, may be formedwith an opening for y the introduction of a wrench, for a purpose hereinafter brought out, and` the opposite ends of this shaft are formed with opposed threads 15, each mounting a nut 16, it being hereynoted that the left-'hand portion of the.

shaft isV further formed 'with a thread 17 opposed to the. adjacent thread fandthe thread 17 mounting a collar 18.

Clamped between the nut 16 and collar 18 is a bevel cutter 19 and clamped between the second nut 16 and the collar 14 is a saw cutlter 20.' It is to be noted that,- due to the manner in which the threads 154-17 are opposed, that all `operating strains will result merely in the cutters' being `tightened and locked more firmly Aagainst movement'with respectjtothe shaft12. f However, if for any reason it becomes necessary to looseneither the Vnut 16 or the collar 18,- this may be achieved readily by simply inserting into the opening ofthe coll-ar 14 a wrench and there- Y upon applying tothe part to be loosened'a suitable wrench in 'order to'accomplish the desired end.

Mounted upon the base for sliding moveexpense isavoided'.Y

f formed in the bar 2t,`the head of this bolt or, as shown, washers carried thereby, being sufliciently large to prevent ajlifting ofthe Vcarriage from the base.

edges of thebase'lO and portionsA ofrv that-op V surface thereof are machined, as at 26, the" Portions ofV the side adjacent surfaces of the carriage beinglilgewise treated so that an accurately defined Vpath of travel is providedfor the carriage,x

and the latter may move along the same with yutmost freedom, it being understood that, by

this construction, itis unnecessary to-machine entire surfaces and,fas a consequence, useless VThe rear'bar ofthe carriage mounts a rod 27,Y preferably as shown, by reduci-ng and vextending'upwardly the? ends ofthe bar 22,

asiatl 28, and forming the endsof the rod with openings through which the1 upturned ends.

28 extend, the Vparts being secured in position, for example, by means of' set screws 29. En'eircling the rod or. sha-ft 27 is a collarl() which mounts ana'rm 3l extending from? the sameto a poi-ntjadjacent the bar 21, clamps, generallylindicated at 32, being disposedadv jacentl the oppositeends of this arm audit being noted that .this arm is disposedv wholly Ybeyond the sideedges of the'keyfclamps 32.

' Movement ofthe carriage'a-way from the cutters is limited'by a stopv lug extending upwardly from the base 10, which stop is' arranged to engage the rear facel of the bar 2l.

This stop;V likewise serves to prevent the forwardA movement ofl the carriage when the kparts are inthe position shown in Figure -l in that, in such position, it wil-l" engage with. the forwardv lowerk edge of the arm 3l, which ,is extended ,downwardlyY for thirsf` purpose, it being finally', noted that this same stop'- lug,y

incident toengagementwiththe side edge of .the arm, prevents this arm from moving side y by thfecutter 19. n

Ways to a point at' which the` lrey clamp will Vengage the side-ofthe pulley',with'consequent damage to they parts when this cla-mp isV supporting a blank which is being operated' upon The parts are normally locked in the position shownin Figure lbylrh'aving vassociated with the rearmost clamp av latch,"or pivoted lever 34 which, as the arm BOis shifted sideways, along the har 2l and'rod 27, slides over the outer edge of-"a wedge-shaped projection 35 extending froml the'base and falls behind the same. It isV obvious that, with the Aparte 1n` this position, Vthe carriage mayl not be' lmoved forwardincident to engagement between the forward ledge of the arm 3l and the rear face of the lug 83, and that the arm and clamps carried thereby may not be moved 'c to the left downwardly, as viewed in Figure l, incident to engagement between the latch lever 34 and latch lug 35, and that they may not be moved upwardly due to contact between the edge of the arm 3l and the righthand gauge block hereinafter described, it being furthermore observed,.in this connection, that a pin: 36 mayfbecarried by this block .and a recess formed in the arm 3l to prevent the latter swinging upwardly. Thus, a careless'person, ijn brushing'agains't the machine, cannot cause theparts'to be thrown topositions at which they will be damaged, but'i't is lobvious that an operator may deliberately;swing the lever 34 outwardly to clear the rlatch lug 35 so that the arm and Y clamps carried thereby may be shifted downwardl-y, as viewed inv Figure `l', from which position thev forward, or blank clamp 32v may be 'swung upwardly-fcarrying with it the arm 5B1-and these elements may' then be shifted along' the rod 27 to lie adjacent the cutter 2O.v n

- Now referringto the gauge members, it will be notedthat, the machine presently illustrat-ed, blocks 37 entend upwardly from the base of the machine and are formed with a slot disposed to one side of the center lineof Y the block (and',faccording toV standard practice, to the left-hand sifde of such 'center line),

these slots intersecting a screw threaded. ori- Y tice, each mounting a screw threaded plug.

ed bore-mounting a set screw l0 yof a greater Ylength than the plug 38. As shown in Figure ,agauge tl is'mounted, or forms apart of.a plate 4t2', the body of which extends and rides within the slot of the block 37.. The

upperedge ofthe plate 42 isl formedwith a recess, as shown in F igurefl, for the accommodation of the lower end of the set. screw 40'..- Thu's1,'it is. obvious that,` with the set screw loosened, as in this figure,the plug may beY turned 'in order to shift forwardlyy or rearwardly, within the slot of the block 37, the

platevwhich carries thegauge 41.. 'After this vmember, has been setto proper position by the turning of the plugthefset screw isy tightened untilit bears intimately against the base of the recess within the plate, and under "3S, preferably formed with 'a'screw-driver Y slot 39.,.whereby Vthey may be turned, Each of these plugsiis formedwith.a'screwethreadstandard screw thread design, it will be un-V derstoodthat, with the parts thus disposed any strains against the gauge orplate in-a rearward direction will result merely in the' parts tending to engage with. greatcrfintimacy and will' not result in accidental shifting. The gauge 43 is likewiseimounted Y within its bloc-k1 and maybe similarly adjusted. v "1 'w l i 1 Y As shown, each of these clamps may include f plate 46 cooperates.

Referring to the clamps, heretofore generally indicated at 32, thel structure of each of the same is preferably similar. It is to be understood that the rear' clamp accommodates the key which is being duplicated and the forward clamp serves, supportsand retains the key blank being'operated upon.

what might be termed a bed plate` 44from the rear edge of which ashoulder 45 extends upwardly and with which bed plate a clamp This latter plate 'supports a downwardly extending pin 47 lentering a recess formed in the bed plate 444 and also rotatably mounts a screw thread bolt 48 entering a threaded recess in the bed plate,

land this bolt presenting ashoulder 49 to be accommodated within the upper end of the bed plate recess, and the bolt being turnable in any desired manner as, for example, by

having a winged head 50. In Figure 3 the parts have been shown as extended materially beyond their normal position, but it will be obvious that as the plate 46 moves downwardly to key, or blank clamping position, that the collar 49 will have entered the recess, the pin 47 will also have entered its recess, the shoulder 45 bearing against the rear edge of the plate 46 so that any play between these several parts, and particularly between the blank or key and the clamp, will be prevented when this element is properly engaged between the plates thereof. .In order `to provide what might be termed a back-stop for the key or blank accommodated within the clamp, the bed plate 44, in the present instance, is formed with a'series of aligned openings, the majority of which, as in Figure 1, are disposed'preferably in the base of a groove 51. Extending upwardly through these openings are the teeth '52 of a springpressed combmember which, in the instance of a cylinder type keyserve as a back-stop to maintain the front edge of the key in the proper plane. The purpose of the groove 51 becomes apparent in that the round or squared shank of an old or gate type key may be accommodated within this groove, it being understoodv that when such a key or blank therefor is disposed within the clamp the teeth of the comb are retracted as, for example, by projecting a pin or wrench end through an opening 52 in the plate 46,'this opening being in line with one of the teeth of the comb. It will furthermore be observed, with reference to this construction, that the last tooth of the comb is in line with the edge of the shoulder 45, as a consequence of which, when it becomes necessary `to slot the edge of the key gate, the key may be disposed in perfect alignment with respect to the clamp by simply having its shank bear againstthe end tooth of the comb and the edge of the shoulder. A

Inkeys of this character it is occasionally necessary to mill a-groove in one of the faces of the gate, which heretofore has been an extremely diflicult operation. It is proposed, according to the present invention, to

yemploy an attachment for the machine which.l

may take theform shown in Figure 6, in which agrooved platev 53Uis provided', with a rearwardly extending tail piecey54 con- -veniently'of hooked shape, one edge of this the use of a lever 60 pivotally secured'to the plate 53, as at 61, and having a slotted nose 62 extending within` the slot 55and. embracing a pin63 securedV to the plate 56. A Thus, it will ,be apparent that the entire assemblage of this attachment is maintained by the pivot pin 61, thus reducing materially the cost'of manufacture'. r i v Asithe lever i60 is shiftedback and forth any key disposed Withinseithe'r of the grooves 58 is likewise shifted, itfbeing understood that'such key is retained in position'after disposing it within one of the pair of grooves by forcing a tapered pinor wrench end (not shown) into the'second groove. The hook ofv the attachment is disposed `within the forward or blank clampand, by virtue of havin-g the last tooth of thecomb inV line with the edge of the shoulder 45 it will be apparent that the attachment and the key blank mounted thereby will be properly disposed with respect to the-saw 20. Y f

Finally, with reference to Figure 5,'-it will be seen that the `bed or base of `the machinev` preferably has upon its underside, integral' 4legs 64 and cross ribs 65, thus assuring rigidity ofV construction and, further, permitting a reduction of weight of the machine. Openings for the ypassage ofclamping bolts or screws may be provided, as at 66, through the forward legs 64 and, as aty 67, to one side of Athe rear legs,it being noted thatthe forward legs are preferably thickened in .order tovcompensate for any weakness arising incident to 4 providing these openings. f `1 v ln operation it will be appreciated that, incident to the disposition of the parts it is practicable to employ a drive pulley 13 of relatively broad area. This allows for a slow driving speed of the shaft 12, which is greatly to be desired with a view to eflicient key cutting operation. As afore brought out, prior to the rotation of the shaft andincident t0 the construction of the latter and the moun'ting thereon of the several cutters theseunitsf' may,when desired,`be dismounted: witlrfacility but, undervnormalconditions-of operation, the greater-the strain thereon themoi'eA j they will tendf to-tighten. The clampsare so mounted that, while-they maybe shifted to every positionfwhichthey maybe required to assume under proper operatiomthey cannot besh'ifted to= positions at which damage will y parent that the machining of the p arts,.allovvfV occuntofthe parts. It is obvious, however, uthat iff the carriage is to be dismounted, this 'may be readily accomplished. It is also ap# ing for; such free shifting; .of the carriage, is reducedto aminimumby means of the pres- Ventgconstruction, When 1tV becomes lnecessary .to adjust the gaugesffortheir initial setting, or incident to wear-this is readily capable of accomplishment, but these gauges wilfl'not4k shift accidentally while the machine is in use. In vnormal condition the carriage but may readily be released from suchilocked position by simply swinging the lever 34 associatedl withl the rearV clamp to clear the latch lug 85, this-lever falling automatically to lockingposition duringthe shifting of the armA and clamps to the position-shown in Figvure l. Obviously, when -inf'un'lockedl position, the Y.clamps may be shiftedprwith facility 'to have theA blank cooperate withl either of Y with'A the former-type ofv key,ythe' levers 34,

' ein;

when swung upwardly, may bear against the forward edges thereof in order to assurethat 4bothvelemefnts are pressedintimately against -vthe teeth ofthe combs.Y

It is obvious that they attaclnnent maybe applied to the machine withfacility and that .byfmeans of this attachment keys of the gate type'may be readily operated` upon. Y v Thus, among others, the objects speci'iically .afore 'enumerated are accomplished, but it is to ;.be understood thatnumerous changesin Ystructure might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined inthe following claims.

'Having described my invention, what I claim as new an'ddesire `to secureby Letter Patentisz- 1 1. A key cutting Vmachine including a clamp, keyjcuttingvmeans .forming a part of said machine .and cooperating with a blank or key disposed within said clamp, said clamp including a bed plate, a second plate, .one of saidplates being formed with a series of openings, means for relatively moving said plates, a comb, the-teeth of'which extend through saidopenings, a spring for project ingl such, comb ,and a, shoulderforming a part islocked againstmovement in any direction, I

essai@ of one ofVA said plates and having its edge inline withV one ofthe teeth of said comb.,

2; A key cuttinglv machine includingv a clamp, key-cutting: means; forming a part of said machine and" cooperating witha blankv or key disposed!v Withinf saidclamp and said clamp including aV bedrplate, a second plate,

one of said plates being formed with a series of openings, means for relatively movingsaid plates, a comb, the teeth of whicheXtend ,throughsaid opening,` andthe plate 'within which such openings are formed beingy provided with a groove intersected by such openv ingsandl which groove is shaped to accommodatethe shank of a gauge type key blank.

3. A key cutting machine including a cutter, a key and blank clamp assembly mounted for movement towards and away from said clampsof such assembly, means .for adjustacutter, al gauge disposed adjacent one ofithe bly mounting such gauge, including a slotted block within which a continuation ofsaid gauge is disposed, andan eccentricv member n mounted by said block and cooperating with the extension of the in position.

gauge to lock the :latter aLl-L keyr cuttingr machine including aciit- Y ter, a key and blank clamp assembly mountedy for movement towards Vand away from said cuttera gauge disposed adjacent one'oi-f the clamps of suchf assembly, means ,for ad- Vjustably mounting such gauge, inc1u`dingaa`- slotted block within which a continuation of said gauge is disposed, an eccentric member mounted by said `block and vcooper-ating with icc the-extension of the gauge, rand means for Y locking suchy parts against movement under strain. 7 v Y i .5. A key machine including a bed, a carriage movablewith respect thereto., keycutting yand gauge means associated with' said I bed'` and cooperatingwith elements Y supported by such carriage, Vand gauge means associated withsaid carriage and cooperating with the elements supported therebyv` to check vtlieposition thereof, suchlattergauge means providing a lock preventing movement' of said carriage in one, direction upon the latter Yreachinga predetermined position with' re-` spect to the'bed.7 Y

6. A key cutting machine including a shaft,

a cutter' mounted upon said shaft, a drive` member secured `to said shaft, a bed A'adjacent the same, a carriage movably` mounted upon said bed, a clamp supported by said carriage .and movable thereony in proximity to .said

drive member, a lug element andan arm element, one of said elements forming a part of said carriage and another of the same'forming a part of said bed, said elements'contacting to provide a stop functioning to prevent said clamp, or an element supported thereby, from reachingza position adjacentsaid drive member. y

` 7.. combination key i cutting machine j lation of a key, and means forming a part of said attachment for association With theincluding a cutter, a key clamp, means for movably mounting the latter With respect to the cutter,` means forming a part of said Clamp retaining a key blank in predetermined position in respect thereto, aV key holding attachment7 means for shifting portions of the same to permit of the corresponding manipuclamp of the machine and cooperating With the same to be held in the same predetermined position. I

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

Y JOSEPH SCHECHTER. 

